BOZEMAN — Gallatin County voters are being asked to weigh in on a proposed change to how future local government officials are elected.
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On the November ballot, voters will be asked whether Gallatin County elections should remain partisan or become nonpartisan.
The question comes from the Gallatin County Study Commission, a seven-member board elected in November 2024 to review the county’s structure of government and determine whether changes should be presented to voters.
Study Commission member Steve White said a significant amount of work went into researching county government and gathering feedback from the public.
“For the past two years, our commission held over 90 meetings on Fridays in the courthouse, and we had two rounds of listening sessions at different locations across the county,” White said.
After reviewing public input and studying county government operations, commissioners ultimately voted 4-3 to leave the county’s overall form of government unchanged. However, members agreed the question of partisan versus nonpartisan elections should be decided by voters.
“If the voters were to choose nonpartisan, then you would see on the ballot office seekers would not be declaring the party that they’re going to be in,” White said.
White said the issue was also on the ballot in 2019 and failed.
According to the Study Commission, nonpartisan elections could reduce straight-ticket voting in local races, broaden the candidate pool by encouraging people who do not identify with a political party to run and place greater emphasis on local issues.
According to the Gallatin County Clerk and Recorder, the county has mailed out 65,000 ballots and received about 11,000 back. Another 15,000 people are expected to vote at the polls Nov. 3.
